Pneumatic deck scaling machine



Aug. 7, 1951 D. J. FINN PNEUMATIC DECK SCALING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Aug. 8, 1946 FIG.I

INVENTOR DANIEL J. FINN ATTOR NEY Aug. 7, 1951 D, J, FlNN 2,562,899

PNEUMATIC DECK SCALING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8, 1946 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR DANIEL J. FINN W BY ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES PAT ENT FF I CE PNEUMATIC DECK SCALING MACHINE Daniel J. Finn,Everett, Mass.

- Application August 8, 1946, SerialNo. 689,133

(Granted under the act of, Marchv 33,1883, as

amended. April. 30, 1928;. 370 O. G 757) 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to apparatus, for removing scale .fromsteel decks and thelike.

Preparatory to applying new paint or-preservative to steel decks ofships, oil tanks, and the like, it is necessary to remove the .old paintand scale which has accumulated from corrosion. Heretofore, this scalehas been chipped loose by the. use of either hand actuated chippinghammers or scrapers. or small pneumatic chippers held in; the hand of anoperator. The task of cleaning large areas by'this method is very slowand tedious, besides bein injuriousto the respiratory system of theoperator in view of the necessary proximity of the operator tothe flyingscale which .is chipped. .loose. The use of pneumatic air hammers alsoresults in uneven chipping, due to varying pressure applied to thehammer by different operators. Even after, chipping is completed by thismethod additional bufiing and fin ishing is required before paint can beapplied to the surface.

Accordingly, the primary object of'the present invention is to providean improved scaling machine.

A further object of the present invention is to provide. a scalingmachine which will speed up the scaling process.

Another object is to provide a machine which will perform a uniformscaling operation on steel decks and the like.

A still further object is to provide a machine for scaling steel decksand the like in operation of which the operator of the machine will beprotected from the scale being chipped.

Theforegoing and other objects of the present invention will be apparentfrom the detailed del5, and associated. springs and pins for actuationof the throttle valve are necessary, but in the present application ofthe chipper the throttle valve and its actuating means are removed toallow operation of the hammer as soon as compressed air is appliedthrough the cylinder head at point IS. The operation of the chipper isfamiliar to those versed in the art so a discussion of its operation isnot considered necessary here. The chisel l3 can: be removedfrom thehammer when it becomes worn, thus providing ease in servicing thepresent machine.

The vehicle on which the air hammers are carried comprises essentially arectangular frame 20, Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, preferably fabricated fromangle iron, and four wheels .21 attached to aXles 22 to support frame 20substantially as shown. A handle 23, preferably of tubular stock, isrigidly attached at the rear of frame 2!] and extends backward andupward to such a height that the vehicle can be conveniently pushed byan operator when in a standing position. Attached to frame 20 anddisposed so as to be parallel to axles -22 are two plate members 24 and25 spaced substantially as shown. Plates 24 and 25 have holes cutthrough them to engage the lower end of the cylinder 10 of the pneumaticchippers. In

width of the blades of chisel l3 of the pneumatic scription when takenwith the accompanying The machine herein described comprises essentiallya movable vehicle upon which aremounted a plurality of pneumaticchippers, the chippers being so disposed on the vehicle that a, strip ofsurface substantially the width of the vehicle is scaled as the vehicleis pushedalong.

chipper. Plate 25 has four holes symmetrically disposed with respect toits ends and spaced similarly as the holes in plate 24. The holes are ofsuch shape and size that they engage snugly the chiselend ofcylinderII), which has flattened sides for a short way 'up'the walls of thecylinder. The shoulder which .is formed-by the transition from the flatsides to a full cylinder rests on the tops of plate 24 and 25 and thussupports the chippers and prevents rotation of the cylinders. The shapeof the lower end of cylinder l'll'is clearly shown The chipping hammersused in the present. in- I in Fig. 2. The chippers are mounted in theplates such that the blades of chisels 13 are normalto the axis ofmotion of the machine. It is apparent that as the machine is pushed overthe deck, the chisels extending from plate 25 engage the area missed bythe chisels in plate 24. The wheels 2| of thevehicle, of course are ofsuch diameter that chisels l3 contact the deck with sufficient pressureto, perform the chipping operation when air is applied to the chippers.The present embodiment shows a machine with seven. chippers installed,but it is apparent that any desired, number may be used so long as theyare, spaced to insure complete coverage of the area beneath the machineas it is pushed along.

Plates 26 and 21 with holes spaced identically with the holes of plates24 and 25, respectively, engage the cylinder heads of the shippers tomaintain them in vertical alignment. The holes in plates 26 and 21 arecountersunk to fit the conical portion of cylinder head ll of thechipper. A slight vertical movement of the cylinders 10,

While the chippers are in operation, is allowed by the extension of fourextension springs 30, which are secured between upper plates 26 and 21and lower plates 24 and 25 by stub bolts 28 and nuts 29. cient tomaintain vertical alignment of cylinders [0, guide bolts may be usedbetween the upper and lower plates to add rigidity to the system.

At point it of the chippers (Fig. 3) are inserted stub pipes 3! to whichare attached by suitable coupling means 32 flexible tubes 33. A manifold34 which is essentially a large pipe closed at both ends, or similarcylinder, is mounted on plate 35, which in turn is supported by frame20, with its axis normal to the axis of motion of the machine. Sevenstub pipes 36 symmetrically disposed with respect to 'the ends ofmanifold 34 and equally spaced are inserted through the walls ofmanifold 34. Each of stub pipes 36 are connected by flexible hoses 33 toits respective stub pipe 3| to provide a free passage for air from themanifold 34 to the piston ll (Fig. 3) of the pneumatic chipper. Anotherflexible hose 37 is connected to one end of the manifold by suitableplumbing 38 and extends along handle 23 to a throttle valve 39 attachedto handle 23 in convenient reach of the operator. Supply hose 40 whichenters the throttle valve is connected to a supply of compressed air ofpressure suitable for operation of the type of air hammers used, andshould be of suflicient length to allow free movement of the machineabout the deck or surface being worked upon.

In operation, compressed air enters the manifold 34 through hose 37 whenthrottle valve 39 is opened. Since there is a free air passage from themanifold to the actuating cylinders of the air hammers, all the hammerswill start to operate immediately upon opening of throttle valve 39. Themachine is pushed along at a suitable rate over the surface to bechipped. Since the chippers have a repitition rate of approximately 8000strokes per minutes, it is obvious that the machine can be moved ratherrapidly and still insure a clean chipping job; As was previouslydiscussed, the chisels of the back row are staggered with respect to thefront row, whereby a strip of a width defined by the spacing of the backrow of chisels will be scaled as the machine is pushed forward over thesurface to be scaled. The vehicle frame,- the manifold and associatedtubing as a protective shield together with the distance the operator isfrom the actual chipping chisels prevents the scale and dust chippedloose from causing injurious effects to the operator. In thisconnection, the machine can be further improved by placing a sheet metalhood over the entire chipping mechanism, whereby all chips and dust areprevented Should the tension of springs 30 be insuffi from blowingaround above the machine where Conceivably, too,

4 can be picked up immediately after it is loosened from the deck.Accordingly, the foregoing description should not be construed as adefinition of the invention, but merely illustrative of one form theinvention may take. The spirit and scope of the invention are to belimited only by the appended claim.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and .used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalty thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

A machine for scaling steel decks and the like comprising, incombination, a, rectangular frame structure, a pair of axlesrespectively secured to said frame structure along two opposite edgesthereof, four wheels journalled on said axles and disposed outside thearea enclosed by said frame structure, first and second plate membersmounted in said frame parallel to said axles, said plate members beingspaced from each other in a direction normal to the axes of said faxles,a plurality of pneumatic chipping tools each including a' cylinder witha chisel extending from one end thereof, each of said cylinders having aflattened side extending a short distance along the length thereof fromthe chisel end, said first plate member having an odd number of openingsformed therein of a shape conforming to the chisel end of said cylinderssymmetrically located with respect to the ends of said first platemember and evenly spaced between centers a distance substantially equalto twice the width of said chisels for accepting a like odd number ofsaid cylinders and maintaining said cylinders in a vertical position,the cutting edges of said chisels thereby being disposed parallel to thesaid axles and said cylinders constrained from rotation, said secondplatemember having an even number of similar openings thereinsymmetrically located with respect to the ends thereof and spacedbetween centers a distance equal to the spacing between the openings insaid first plate for receiving and supporting a like even number of saidcylinders, first and second retaining plates mounted to engage theunsupported ends of the cylinder -respectively supported b said firstand second plate members, and air distribution means mounted on saidframe arranged to simultaneously apply compressed air to each of saidchipping tools,

DANIEL J. FINN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

v UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 520,085 Shuart May 22, 1894596,781 Lanz Jan. 4, 1898 681,715 Layne Sept. 3, 1901 1,585,740 SauliaMay 25, 1926 1,657,779 Bly Jan. 31, 1928 1,663,965 Aikele Mar. 27, 19281,745,100 Johnson et a1 Jan. 28, 1930 2,136,315 Pettit Nov. 8, 19382,263,595 Sinkko June 9, 1939 2,245,544 Miller June 10, 1941 2,421,231Allen May 27, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 118,184 GreatBritain Aug. 22, 1918

